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May 15, 2008 WEDNESDAY, May 7
The Associated Press reported today that a state Senate panel has concluded that Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Director Ted Liu broke the law. And the penalty could be losing his job. According to the five-member investigating committee, Liu's granting of a $8.7 million hydrogen fund managing contract to H2 Energy, LLC was a violation of state law, since another firm—Kolohala Holdings, LLP—was actually the highest-ranked bidder. While not going as far as saying that Liu favored H2 over Kolohala for "personal gain," the senators are saying that Liu and his staff "intentionally" gave special consideration to H2 and then began "covering it up" to protect Liu—a plan that, if true, was a spectacular failure (even Senator Sam Slom, the lone Republican on the panel, called the actions of Liu's subordinates "moronic"). Liu, for his part, says he "operated under procedures I understood to be correct." The problem here, in my estimation, is Liu's job, which is basically to cozy up to firm that do business in Hawai'i. For a taxpayer-funded bureaucrat, such a job is fraught with peril. When I first began looking for possible ties between Liu and H2—to help explain why he might favor that firm over Kolohala—I found one in about five minutes: in June 2005, H2 Energy official Barry Weinman accompanied Liu and Governor Linda Lingle on a special governor's trip to China. Aha! I thought. But then, just for fun, I decided to see if I could find any ties between Liu and Kolohala. Sure enough: In April 2006, Liu sat on a panel with Kolohala official Michael Pfeffer at some Chinese business seminar thing at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. And later this month, Liu will sit on another business panel at the Manoa Grand Ballroom, this time with Kolohala official Robert Robinson (these are not the extent of Liu's ties to officials with these firms; rather, they're the extent of ties that I could find in the five minutes I allotted myself to do half-assed research for this piece). ANYWAY, the point to all this is that Liu seems to have cozy ties with both firms, when in fact he shouldn't have any ties with firms trying to win his approval for government contracts. In any case, Liu probably doesn't have much to worry about—the AP says the state Attorney General's office, which would ultimately decide whether to indict Liu, opposes the whole Senate investigation on the grounds that the hearings are "unfair."
THURSDAY, May 8
Now here's some good news: according to today's Maui News, our county has an "undetermined amount" of unexploded World War II bombs! And no, I'm not talking about those old unexploded bombs at Molokini or that mysterious little torpedo that was floating around the island a few months ago and then never seen again—according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers draft reports cited in The Maui News article, four old bombing ranges on Maui and Lanai pose at least some concern: Kanahena Point at Keoneoio, Kanounou Point at Honokohau, Kamaole Beach in Kihei and Manele Bay on Lanai. Of those areas, Kam Beach and Manele Bay aren't a big concern and probably don't have any explosives lying around, but the other two could pose problems. Both are remote, located in the extreme south and west of Maui, but that doesn't change the fact that "explosive hazards" are known to be in these areas. In November 2007, a Parsons Corp. survey team found a .50-caliber bullet and a couple 155mm artillery rounds at Kanahena. And while recently researching the Kanounou, the Corps of Engineers apparently discovered underground "anomalies." Lovely. Anomalies. We're doomed, right?
FRIDAY, May 9
Hawai'i's immediate economic future isn't good, according to a new University of Hawai`i Economic Research Organization study written by UH economists Carl Bonham and Byron Gangnes and Hawai`i Pacific University Professor Leroy Laney. "All four Hawaii counties will see zero economic growth in 2008," says a Pacific Business News story today on the study. The reason is simply a projected massive drop in tourist arrivals—6.5 percent for Maui County alone. This bad news directly contradicts Governor Linda Lingle's generally rosy April 25 speech at the Hawai`i Economic Association Annual Conference. "Our state's economic growth has slowed, but it has not stopped," Lingle told the conference. "The latest forecast from the University of Hawai'i Economic Research Organization predicts that our state will not slip into a recession." That last stat seems to be a bit dated now, though Lingle also cited a Council of Revenues projection that the state would see 3.9 percent growth in 2008, and other state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism prediction that we'd see a 2.5 percent uptick. Even so, given the Economic Research Organization's credibility, it'll be tough for her to continue to paint a picture of an economically healthy Hawai'i.
SATURDAY, May 10
But I'm sure she'll find a way.
SUNDAY, May 11
I mean, has she ever let us down before?
MONDAY, May 12
I thought so.
TUESDAY, May 13
And now I present a statement from county Public Information Officer Mahina Martin in response to my May 8, 2008 LC Watch column announcing that Maui Liquor Commissioner James Viela had resigned following my reporting on his 2005 DUI: "You are correct to point out that it's historically difficult for the county to fill board and commission vacancies. The County has 31 boards and commissions that involve 287 individuals who volunteer their time to serve the community. Vacancies occur when terms are completed or a member resigns. Many recognize the high profile ones such as the Planning Commission and Board of Water Supply, and others like the Commission on Children and Youth, County Arborist Committee, and Commission on Culture and the Arts often go unnoticed. Finding nearly 300 people who are able to contribute time and energy is no simple task nor is it taken lightly. Suggesting that the Mayor's office is so desperate that we conduct little or no vetting of applicants is an easy and hasty assumption. Applicants are screened for appropriateness by staff before being reviewed by the Mayor. Once the Mayor decides on the nomination, it is then forwarded to the County Council for review and approval. With regards to your paper's review of a liquor commissioner who resigned last month after it was disclosed that he had a DUI arrest in 2005, and the question of whether or not the Mayor was aware of it before sending the nomination to the Council for approval—the DUI arrest was not disclosed in the application submitted in January of this year and therefore was not considered." There you go: Mayor Charmaine Tavares did not know about Viela's 2005 DUI when she nominated him to the Liquor Commission, which is exactly what Viela said in my May 8 story, because there's no space on the commissioner application form in which to write such information. Reassured? I certainly am not.
Get snarky news and commentary from Anthony Pignataro sent directly to you cell phone. Just text "follow apignataro" to 40404 and we'll do the rest. MTW
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